Is this a good subwoofer? Will it be loud? (Hear good outside car) And what amp do i...

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letowe

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...need? http://cgi.ebay.com/ALPINE-TYPE-S-SWS-1223D-12-SUBWOOFER-SUB-2-OHM-DVC-NEW_W0QQitemZ180299758248QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCar_Subwoofers_Enclosures?hash=item180299758248&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A570%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
I am trying to buy a good subwoofer for my car along with amp, wiring, etc. for around 200$. I have no idea about any of this stuff so I need help. How many watts do i need the amp to be putting out so it will be good for the sub? I am guessing 900 since thats its peak power? Would it be better to put it in a sealed box? PLEASE HELP!!!
 
Ok, first thing is, dont dont dont look at peak power. if you look at peak power and you actually run your amp at peak power, your subs will overload and they will blow. Look at the RMS. The RMS is the watts they will be running on a constant basis. To get a good system it is much more expensive then you think. The type S sub you are looking at i think is 300 RMS watts. I will tell you upfront you will need about $400-$500 minumum to get a decent system and this is a low price range. An amp is going to cost you $200 easy for a cheap one, and wiring is about $75. The thing is, you can build a very cheap system with a cheap amp and cheap wiring but it wont sound good at all. if you want something you can hear outside your car you will need at least a sub that is 500 RMS watts. Maybe 2 of them. Which means you will need a amp that is 1000 watts RMS. Look into Alpine, Memphis, and other top brands.
 
Okay, here it goes... Alpine usually makes pretty good stuff, or so i've heard, so that speaker could be a good choice. You should be able to hear it outside of the car as long as you make the box correctly and pick the right amp. Just don't buy it off of E Bay, God knows how those people handled the equipment. As for the amp question, you need to make the amp get as close as possible to matching the RMS wattage, in this case 300 watts. RMS is short for Root Means Squared, which measures the amount of wattage a speaker can continuously use. 900 is what the speaker CAN take but won't take continuously. If you used a 900 watt RMS amp it would destroy the speaker. So, look for an amp that puts out 300 watts RMS and no more than 900 max.
As to your box question, it depends on your music preferance and what sound you're after. If you want SQ (sound quality) or have limited space, make a sealed box. If you want the speaker to blow the windows out of your car and the one next to you, use a ported box.
www.caraudio.com/forum/ has everything you need, and is a great place to get more info.
 
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